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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Drought effects on the dynamics of leaf production and senescence in field-grown Medicago arborea and Medicago citrina
Annals of Applied Biology, Volume 144, No. 2, Year 2004
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Description
Forage shrub production in the Mediterranean region is frequently limited by soil water availability. To study plant responses to water deficit under such conditions is important for improving crop management and for selecting better yielding forage shrub species. Pre-dawn leaf water potential (Ψpd), plant leaf area (PLA), leaf area per stem (LA s), leaf appearance rate (LARl), leaf senescence rate (LSR), individual leaf area (LA) and maximal leaf elongation rate (LER) were studied throughout the year for Medicago arborea (MA) and Medicago citrina (MC) under irrigated (control) and low rainfall field conditions, at the experimental field site of the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain. With irrigation, the highest LA and LER were observed in autumn and spring and the lowest in winter and summer. LARl was similar for both species in autumn and winter. Throughout the spring, LARl was higher for MC compared to MA. PLA was similar for both species during the autumn, winter and spring seasons; however, during the summer PLA of MA was significantly reduced by 53%. This decline was attributed to higher leaf senescence during seed maturity. As a consequence, MC maintained higher leaf area (≈ 5 m2 plant -1) than MA (3 m2 plant-1). Under natural field conditions, soil water deficit increased from February to late August. The main effect of water stress was a marked reduction in LARl, LA and LER reflected in lower LAs and PLA. Leaf area was severely reduced for both species during the summer, but much more intensively in MA, which developed full leaf senescence. Thus, MC maintained higher PLA than MA (0.5 m2 compared to 0.0 m2). Throughout the year, but especially in the driest months, MC was superior to MA in leaf growth parameters and PLA. © 2004 Association of Applied Biologists.
Authors & Co-Authors
Lefi, Elkadri
Spain, Palma
Universidad Las Islas Baleares
Gulías, Javier
Spain, Palma
Universidad Las Islas Baleares
Cifre, Josep
Spain, Palma
Universidad Las Islas Baleares
Younes, M. Ben
Tunisia
Pôle de Recherche Développement Agricole du Nord Ouest Semi Aride
Medrano, Hipólito
Spain, Palma
Universidad Las Islas Baleares
Statistics
Citations: 18
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1744-7348.2004.tb00330.x
ISSN:
00034746
Research Areas
Environmental